Laundry treatment appliance comprising a program selection device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry care appliances often consume excessive resources and energy due to the need for full cycles, even when laundry is only slightly soiled or has odors, as existing technologies lack efficient control over water, ozone, and additive usage.
Innovation Solution
A laundry care appliance with a program selection device that allows activation of specific feed elements for water mist, ozone, or additives based on the laundry's condition, enabling targeted cycles that reduce resource consumption and mechanical wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a complete laundry care cycle is executed, then effective cleaning of heavily soiled laundry is achieved, but excessive water, energy, and time are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by offering reduced laundry care cycles that activate only specific feed elements (water mist, ozone, or additives) based on the actual soiling level and odor presence, rather than executing a complete cleaning cycle for all laundry loads. This allows energy and resource consumption to be matched to the actual need, reducing waste while maintaining effective cleaning when required.
2Loss of substance
If water mist is supplied to moisten laundry, then water-soluble soiling is removed without detergent, but this is only suitable for slightly soiled laundry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the feed element activation configurable and adaptable based on the laundry condition. The system can dynamically select which feed elements to activate (water mist only, ozone only, additives only, or combinations) based on the actual soiling level and odor presence, allowing the same appliance to effectively handle everything from slightly soiled to heavily soiled laundry across different program modes.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If ozone is supplied to deactivate odorous substances, then effective odor reduction is achieved, but ozone generation requires additional energy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by using ozone to simultaneously address multiple issues: odor reduction through oxidation of odorous substances, and potential mild cleaning effects. The ozone generation is activated only when odor presence is detected or selected by the user, making the energy consumption directly tied to the actual need for odor removal rather than routine operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple feed elements are activated simultaneously, then comprehensive laundry treatment is achieved, but control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the laundry care function into separate, independently controllable feed elements (water mist, ozone, additives). Each feed element can be activated or deactivated independently through the program selection device, allowing the control system to manage complexity by treating each element as a separate module rather than a integrated system, simplifying both control logic and user selection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy, water, and detergent consumption by allowing selective activation of feed elements, shortening laundry cycles, and extending appliance lifespan by minimizing unnecessary processes.
Implementation Method 1
a first feed element (107) for feeding water mist into the tub
Implementation Method 2
By supplying ozone, an effective odor reduction of the laundry to be cleaned in the laundry care appliance can be achieved. The treatment of laundry to be cared for with ozone has proven to be advantageous in the deactivation of odor-active substances. Ozone is a strong oxidizing agent and is able to oxidize and thus deactivate odorous substances
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a laundry treatment appliance (100) comprising a laundry drum (105) for receiving laundry (125), a washing tub (103) for receiving the laundry drum (105), a first feed element (107) for feeding water mist into the washing tub (103), a second feed element (109) for feeding ozone into the washing tub (103), and a third feed element (111) for feeding an additive into the washing tub (103). The laundry treatment appliance (100) comprises a program selection device (113) for selecting from a plurality of selectable laundry treatment programs, wherein the plurality of selectable laundry treatment programs comprises a first selectable laundry treatment cycle in which only one of the feed elements (107, 109, 111) can be activated. The laundry treatment appliance (100) comprises a laundry treatment cycle controller (117) for executing the selected first laundry treatment cycle.